It's no secret: keeping your shoppers engaged is a challenge. In a world where we can find thousands of new shops at our fingertips, it's difficult for physical stores to keep up. But just because you don't have an online storefront doesn't mean you can't take advantage of analytics technology. And the best way to do so may be with technology so common you haven't even given it a second thought: Wi-Fi.
A Wi-Fi analytics tool can provide you with just as much information as any e-Commerce analytics. But you don't have to sell online to benefit. From data about peak shopping times, first-time customer data and the rate of repeat customers, Wi-Fi is the best analytics tool to learn how to keep shoppers engaged.
The easiest metrics to track are based on time. You're probably aware of peak times throughout the day, but do you know how long people spend at your store? How about when first-time customers vs. repeat customers are more likely to visit?
Instead of just a rough guess, a Wi-Fi analytics tool will give you a clear, real-time snapshot of when customers come and go at your store. Use this to determine when you should hold limited-time promotions, when you might need more staff on hand, and whether your hours are working for your intended customers.
In Wi-Fi marketing, you can offer free Wi-Fi in exchange for an email or phone number. Giving the customer the choice to opt-in gives you another level of access and far more marketing possibilities. The advantages of email marketing are now widely accepted. Building an email list is like building your own following independent from platforms like Facebook or Twitter, which could change their policies at any time.
Combining email marketing with Wi-Fi is even more powerful. Instead of sending out the same email blast to your entire list, a Wi-Fi analytics tool can automatically create a customized email campaign for new users, repeat customers, or even customers who haven't visited your store for a while. People look for free Wi-Fi wherever they go and are far more likely than they were in the past to give you their email when they receive something else in exchange - in this case, Wi-Fi.
Wi-Fi analytics tools can instantly detect when someone is a first-time visitor to your store. And the way you market to a first-time visitor should be different from a one-time customer or repeat customer. Fortunately, you can focus on providing exceptional service in-store, while an analytics tool takes care of the follow-up.
Shoppers who pass through your store but don't make a purchase can opt to receive a notification when the item they couldn't find is back in stock or receive a discount to encourage a second visit. Repeat customers or fans may want to know about new products, keep up with sales and promotions, or events. You can use Wi-Fi to organize these consumers into segments so you can send marketing materials accordingly.
Based on shopping activity and visit frequency, a Wi-Fi analytics tool can estimate value. Possible metrics to track include how often a customer is likely to visit, the average value of one customer, and even a customer's lifetime value. This type of dashboard is an invaluable planning tool that helps you make more accurate predictions about your business's growth, profit, and expenses.
With traditional marketing, you may have easily lose track of customers who stopped visiting or spent too long between visits to your store. But all that information can be tracked with a Wi-Fi analytics tool. After collecting enough data about a customer's visits, this tool can determine if that customer hasn't visited for an unusually long period of time and whether they seem to have stopped visiting your store altogether. Accumulated data on multiple data gives you an average churn rate or the rate that you lose customers.
Make goals to keep your customer churn at an acceptable rate for your business, and take action to save customers who may be at-risk of not returning.
Wi-Fi is a surprisingly powerful tool that exists just about everywhere. Don't overlook the benefits you could gain from using Wi-Fi to engage shoppers at your store.